Grace Moretz is miscast in this drama that sidelines all of its secondary characters to focus on a romance that lacks any chemistry and director Cutler's lack of visual imagination is disappointing. Maybe the best YA parents since Easy A, though!

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | May 18, 2022

It's a study of life and loss, leaning heavily on the regret of building relationships only to see them disappear in the wink of an eye. Luckily Moretz's subtle performance prevents the movie from becoming a soap opera of despair.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 1, 2021

No matter how hard it tries, it just won't make you cry.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Oct 22, 2020

The film gets by on the quality of its cast and the predictable yet fundamentally warm nature of its material.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4.0 | Sep 11, 2020

Disappointingly little of the rock and classical music shot through the novel is utilised; instead clichéd scoring, familiar dialogue and minimal chemistry between Moretz and Blackley renders Cutler's film far less engaging than its source material.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | May 25, 2019

Hollywood feeding the cash cow. I know it, but I don't have to like it....or the maddening mess of a movie that is IF I STAY.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5 | Apr 5, 2019

While she [Chloë Grace Moretz] is consistently strong throughout and is more than capable of carrying the film, the material bogs her down at moments with its tendency towards the mawkish and its obvious pitfalls.

Full Review | Feb 27, 2019

What makes "If I Stay" a pleasant surprise is Moretz. She is so convincing here, delivering a performance that overcomes the moments when the film could have easily spiraled into Lifetime movie-level melodrama.

Full Review | Feb 1, 2019

While If I Stay hopefully teaches no one lessons about romance, it does teach something beautiful about love.

Full Review | Jan 29, 2019

Overall, we feel like we're being told a story...rather than being immersed in an experience. Moretz pours heart and soul into her self-immersed character, but this isn't quite enough to make If I Stay work on other levels.

Full Review | Original Score: B- | Jan 11, 2019

The story's naïveté is matched only by its dullness.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/5 | Dec 11, 2018

The audience's conflict is whether or not to stay awake.

Full Review | Aug 31, 2018

Overall the film manages to hold it's own and give constant romantic & funny contrast in story, much like the two opposite musical worlds Mia and Adam inhabit.

Full Review | Aug 24, 2018

There's really only one hole in this film ... but that one hole is crippling. Make Adam a bit less of an immature jerk, and If I Stay becomes a sweet little movie with a broad appeal.

Full Review | Nov 28, 2017

Moretz manages to convey some of the delicate and bittersweet shades of love and romance with a maturity that prevents the movie from becoming a sob-fest. Therefore, the story moves at a brisk pace.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Nov 14, 2017

Two sins -- emotional button pushing and fantasy pandering -- loom large in this visualisation of the 2009 bestseller by Gayle Forman.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Nov 8, 2017

This venture feels slightly contrived.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Sep 8, 2017

The film's tone can't seem to find a footing as the seriousness of Mia's family's situation in the hospital is juxtaposed with the pseudo-dramas of teenage love.

Full Review | Original Score: C- | Aug 17, 2017

For long stretches, [If I Stay] seems like a TV pilot for a WB show that, rightfully, did not get picked up.

Full Review | Aug 4, 2017

If I Stay is the best when it focuses on its characters and relationships. Everything else is somewhat extraneous.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jan 9, 2017